"The
Gripens had been leased to European air forces, so there is nothing new about
such a deal.

"The
aircraft also meets all of our MRCA requirements although I admit it is short
on gas and range due to its small size," he said when asked to comment on
claims by defence industry sources that Sweden has offered a lease-buy option
for the Gripens.

Sources told
theSun that offer was made after Gripen and the Sukhoi Su-30MKM were eliminated
from the MRCA programme following technical evaluation by RMAF test pilots.

They said
the three top contenders, namely Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale
and Eurofighter Typhoon, would compete for the final stage of the programme,
where their transfer of technology packages and off-set offers would be
evaluated before the winner is selected.

Rodzali
denied that Gripen and Sukhoi were no longer considered for the MRCA programme
as "we are still evaluating all of the aircraft".

He also
denied that RMAF had ranked the aircraft in the technical evaluation.

Instead, he
said, the aircraft's strengths and weaknesses were documented for further
evaluation.

According to
him, one important factor for the final selection would be the lowest support
cost. "If the Super Hornet is seen as the favourite, it is because we
already have the Hornets (eight units) in service."

Asked how
many Gripens will be leased if the offer is accepted, he said "preferably
it will be 18 planes as specified in the MRCA".

He said
despite budgetary constraints, the MRCA programme will go ahead as the air
force has planned to retire the 10 MiG-29N Fulcrum air superiority fighters by
2015. "We may need a special budget, one that covers three Malaysian
plans," he added.

Rodzali
declined to confirm the budget allocation for the MRCA programme but sources
told theSun the air force could only procure 12 jets if it opts for the Super
Hornet, Rafale or Typhoon.

Hungary and
Czech operate the Gripens under a 10-year lease-and-buy contract, for around
RM398 million a year, which covers servicing and training.

Rodzali
dismissed any hint of an arm race in the impending buy.

"The
reason we are looking for new fighters is because of the capability gap. We
need to ensure we are on par with other nations.

"Another
reason is technology. Technology is moving rapidly. We cannot afford to be left
behind."